Kevin forgot a few things. If you make a deal with the Devil, the Devil comes to collect. If you negotiate with terrorists, the terrorists up their demands. And finally, when you show yourself to be untrustworthy and a frequent bad faith actor, people don't trust you and know your word is worthless. And now Kevin McCarthy gets his just desserts. If he was smart, he would quit and make his successor's job even tougher with an even slimmer majority.
But as a practical matter, Dems need to coalesce around someone who could conceivably be a competent Speaker in order to protect the integrity of the institution. Our country can't afford to have a wounded dysfunctional House of Representatives for the next 15 months.
Since Republicans have a majority, they are entitled to the Speakership. But it needs to be someone who's non-MAGA Republican and respected by both sides. There are actually a few who fit the bill.
As many readers here know, I represent a network of ordinary citizens who've been advocating for removing and replacing Kevin McCarthy since January. We're now half-way there!!
In as much as Adam Kinzinger would be a valuable asset to the speakership, no republican will vote for him. Unfortunately, republicans think that standing up for the United States of America and determining what exactly happened on the day Trump's cult attacked our House is a very bad thing and have turned their collective backs on the true republicans that stood up and said 'No More'!
Adam Kinzinger would be an excellent choice but if course that would never happen and with the current state of disfunction I seriously doubt he'd take it if offered.
His problem is he can't corral any MAGA votes, & probably a lot of the other Republicans.
I think many Democrats would vote for him if he were nominated because of all his fine work with the January 6th Committee, but I'm not sure of that since up till now they've been steadfastly united in support of Hakeem Jeffries (who I really hope manages to become Speaker despite Democrats being in the minority, which could happen if enough Republicans abstained from voting, which I suppose could happen if the leading Republican wasn't popular enough).
Well, the majority margin is SO slim, that a Republican "turncoat", with the support of the great majority of the Democratic members of the House, plus those few Republicans with ordinary political principles, COULD elect a Adam K, or better yet (IMHO) Liz Cheney to Speaker. (And I don't think of her as an Angel, but DO respect her principles!
I've been waiting for at least one of the 18 Republicans that represent districts won by Biden in 2020 to step forward.
So far, crickets.
So the demand is ALL the democrats to vote for any candidate who will agree to name a few Democrats as chairs of some of the committees. Who wants to be speaker if only queen (or king) for a day?
Yes, I thought there was an opportunity for that when McCarthy was struggling through his 15 votes: put up a _moderate_ Republican who's willing to work across party lines (starting by dropping the Hastert Rule), and enough Democrats would vote for that Speaker that Gaetz and company can go pound sand. We could try it again now.
Not only would this get the Speaker's seat filled quickly, but it would be a Speaker explicitly committed to bipartisanship and (dare I say it?) actually getting laws passed, rather than performative partisan posturing. Which we'll desperately need in order to pass twelve budget bills in the next six weeks.
That probably amounts to no more than wishful thinking,, but we'll see.
We're probably just as likely to end up with someone as disastrous as Jordan, MTG or Gosar. I think they all voted to keep McCarthy, yet they all have strong ties to the extremists, especially Gosar. Can you imagine any of them being Speaker? Ugh!
Why? The 118th Congress has been dysfunctional from day one. They have passed no useful legislation, most of what they did passed died in the intelligent Senate. The Democrats can still invoke the Constitution to end the stupid "use the debt ceiling to close the Government" without a Speaker and we do have Hakeem Jeffries.
.....yes, the perfect opportunity to break from Trump, but that's not what motivates the sponsors of this move. Some mysterious forceful faction within the GOP must emerge at this moment with the "magic" to capture a new way of walking for the party--could happen, but not the normal unfold of the GOP. Actually, the same could be said for the Dems; do they have the cajones to fast-track Gavin Christopher Newsom ? Again, similar to the GOP, Newsom could solve so many campaign problems, and for the long-term.
My extended family lives in CA, as do many friends. They voted for him in that landslide—but not enthusiastically. Their alternative was the Republican.
as they did with McCarthy initially--stay out of it and do not vote for Speaker. The only reason to change this tactic would be if a pitential Speaker were to make promises to the Dems to key principles. That won't happen. Ultimately the chaos will make its way back to the voters. They have the power to fix this dysfunction. And that depends on their allegiance to Trump.
They voted consistently for Jeffries as Speaker, & they should continue to do so, at least until & unless a candidate comes who is moderate & bipartisan enough to work with Democrats, if such a person exists, which I frankly see no sign of among House Republicans.
My concern is that this is a Brer Rabbit moment. The fox has been convinced to throw Mr. Rabbit back into the briar patch, therefore helping him escape from the fox’s clutches. CNA the lack of a Speaker of the House shut down the system as well?
You wrote "some kind of moderate, sane Republican" - what were you thinking?
After my initial exuberance at the thought - since elsewhere I've just heard that DJT's name has been floated - that since the Speaker DOESN'T have to be even a member of Congress, that Liz Cheney would be an excellent choice, as a Republican, I realized that there probably aren't ANY sitting Republican members of the House of Representatives that could bring themselves to vote for her, or Kinzinger. So, only if enough Republican Congress "critters" (as Jim Hightower calls them sometimes) only voted "Present", could the Democrats elect the Speaker, possibly Hakeem Jeffries.
Wow. Is that true? Awful. They are a nasty bunch. Patrick McHenry is the interim and he is the guy in a bowtie who may have had some trouble lifting the gavel, but after raising it high brought it down HARD at the end of the session. Looks like he's trying to appear tough and maybe vie for the speakership. If he is evicting Nancy Pelosi, he is like trump who tried for a very long time to evict an elderly property owner in Atlantic City when he was trying to get her out of the way of his (failed) casino.
Patrick McHenry: give me liberty, or just give me a whole lot of power! See me? I'm wearing a bowtie! I'm tough.
Really? No respect for someone far more respectable than he..
Another name I hadn't heard before today... er, I guess it's now yesterday. Every new Republican I learn about is at least as bad as the ones I already know about.
How did he become assigned as interim Speaker? By vote of the Republican Caucus? So then he may have a leg up on potential competitors.
True. She’s been in CA—she flew here with Dianne Feinstein’s body and will stay through the lying in state and the funeral. So she’s directed her staff to pack up the office.
McHenry is violating a long-term tradition. Pelops I allowed Denny Hastert to keep his hideaway office when she became Speaker the first time. But McHenry is just petty like that.
What you say is of course spot on. ...Except those "principles" so far don't seem to apply to The Donald. Just remarkable, what 35% of "us" are willing to be comfortable with/settle for. Just remarkable. Pathetic.
Adolph Hitler’s portion of the vote in Germany in 1932 that placed him in a position to snatch the chancellorship was 36.8. (c/o HCR’s Democracy Awakening, Foreward, first page). We are at the tipping point, staring into the abyss.
Times were much tougher for German voters then economically, and the Weimar Republic was short-lived between 2 wars. Germans didn't have the historic tradition we have. All in our favor. Having said that, we are approaching Civil War territory in terms of difficulty governing if Dems don't win 2024 across the board. We also face multiple attacks from foreign agents. Social media is as bad or worse than ever, and AI will be used nefariously.
Sadly, no one who should step down for bad, unethical, corrupt behavior, or bad health seems to consider the common good, their primary responsibility as elected leaders to The House and Senate.
So true!!! McCarthy's word has been worthless!! Flying down to Mar A Lago to kiss the emperor's ring was one of his most embarrassing and shameful exhibitions!!!
So true!! McCarthy's word has routinely been worthless!! He stands for nothing...except the selfish desire of having the title "Speaker of the House" next to his name. His tenure has been shameful and cowardly!! Laughably, now he's gone there are Republicans wanting to put the very definition of damaged goods D. Trump's name forward for the speakership! Reportedly Trump won't take it if offered. Thank goodness for THAT mercy!! Now if the Republicans can get their act together and find a more suitable presidential candidate...one can only hope!!!...although it's unlikely...what an epic mess!!!
Well deserved for bowing down to #TraitorTrump after January 6th, for his Benghazi hearings to take down Clinton & for his fake Biden impeachment hearings.
I think it would be very entertaining to see Bobo Boebert in the role. Downright comical. The first speaker of the House to ever need 4 attempts to pass her GED!
No, no no! I thought the same thing when Trump first ran for president. Well I suppose it was entertaining at times it was a cluster that has had a horrific impact on our democracy, on the lives of women and our relationship with the rest of the world.
Good one, Meredith! She's an airhead and a bitch but her looks got her to where she is. I wouldn't take her home to Mom and Dad, but she might do in a pinch.
As a journalist, and no fan of corporate media, I must take issue. I think Trumpism taps into something much deeper than self-serving, right-wing media hype. Racism, insecurity, fear. We've seen it before, around the world, the hunger for a dictator to protect white supremacy, to blame problems on "them," others such as immigrants, non-white citizens, liberals, Democrats, people like Robert Reich.
Completely agree! White supremacy is at the core of the identity of the MAGATs and they are incapable of willfully separating from that. To do so would fracture their personalities as to induce drooling insanity. This will not end smoothly nor from changing clowns in the car.
Exactly. Fear is the chief driving force behind this movement; fear and lust for power by those who are feeding the fear. Over the last 40 years the legs of effective government have been slowly weakened and are now in the process of being knocked out from under us completely. Remember, there are those who would love to see our government small enough to drown in a bathtub. What they fail to add is, said government would be so small that the new rulers of this country could then run roughshod over any and all who would be left behind for them to rule over. I’m not sure what use the Kochs and their ilk would do with the husk that would be left, because this country isn’t the flag, the pledge or anything else physical but this country is a free and diverse people; always has been, always will be.
That was my exact thought since 2016: The Gop is the party of terrified children awaid of women so they sexually assault them, awaid of children . . . so they sexually assault them, afwaid of non-white humans so they try to get EVERYONE ELSE afwaid of them too, and afwaid of the 99% so they try to kill them. [sic]
I think that was the point of the original post you responded to in this thread. A bubble has been crested for these people. They are literally brainwashed.
That is the WHOLE issue. Russian philosophers told us a long time ago that America is NOT a democracy. (Actually, under our system of campaign contributions today, it is an oligarchy). Our enemies observed that the American people are so completely absorbed in their own personal pursuits, mainly of wealth or just keeping a roof over their families ...they have no time to participate in the operation of their government. This is the weakness that our enemies hope to leverage to do as they promised ...take down America from the inside. They said the American people will cut down the Stars and Stripes themselves, and on Jan. 6, the Trumpite militia did exactly that. They took down our flag and raised a Trump flag in its place over our Capitol. As an observer for over 30 years (reporter), I don't think that the American people realize that our nation is under attack. "If we don't hang together, we shall surely all hang separately." This is the "common good" that Reich and others stress. There are smart and principled people out there. If they don't step up, and if we don't step up to put aside our personal pursuits long enough to support them ...Hail Atlantis!
You make a good point, thanks. I do find it interesting that no one has yet mentioned the elephant in the room, the reactionary Christian Biblical interpretations that almost invariably are mentioned as the ultimate justification for all this bad behavior by MAGA followers. "It's in the Bible, so that's ok with me". Meaning mysogyny, slavery, murder, war, tribal loyalty over justice, homophobia and more.
But I'm pretty sure he wants to be the next Speaker. You can tell from photos from yesterday and today. Smug @#$%^. Someday we'll look back at a timetable dating from the campaign of 2015 to the day before the end of the world, and all of us idiots will say, "Gosh, why didn't we do something sooner?"
Although I think Gaetz has no chance of becoming Speaker for having created so many enemies among his Republican colleagues & having no allies among Democrats, I agree with your sentiment. I think some people who are just as bad like MTG, Gosar & Jordan each have a conceivable chance of becoming next Speaker, & any of them would be disastrous.
I don't know when the shift happened, from governing and compromise and using the best ideas from both sides of the aisle....to a scorched earth, extremist, brinkmanship, holding congress hostage. Let's start with making Congress great again. Also, technically, Donald Trump could be nominated for Speaker of the House. Send in the clowns, they're already here.
Horrifying, maybe. But I think it would actually be comical. tRUMP is incapable of talking to the press ad lib. He would HAVE to. He would be his own worst enemy.
I understand how you feel. The past 6 years have been stressful. Many of us have seen tRUMP for what he is from the start. His narcissism, misogyny, racism, authoritarianism, chronic lying, etc. The fight against him has been long and difficult. However, I think many more have caught on since then. I do agree we must remain persistent in seeing his demise through to the end and beyond. He will need the double-tap to make sure we are rid of him. I am allowing myself a glimmer of hope that I think is justified that justice will be served. His ranting and raving and ludicrous attempts to defend himself have no place in a court of law. The wheels of justice have been turning and think we will see him ground to fine dust. We should not get over confident.
Forgive me for stepping in but I didn't get the impression Chuck was being patronizing. Just trying to lighten things up a bit - as some of us are wont to do in dangerously drastic times. So yeah let's relax a little knowing as we do that Justice is on its slow lumbering way.
Yes, you are correct--Reagan was indeed an arsonist. Napping and joking about it or watching old movies and neglecting his job as President, Reagan was a great beginning template for Trump and his little minions.
Then be sure to vote, get all of your kith and kin who are tired of the GQP's crud to make sure they are registered (if at least 18 years old) and have a plan to vote, volunteer for a voter registration drive, support Progressive candidates, and get your buns to the polls when the time comes and VOTE!
We are a house divided and have a strict no-politics rule. Very much reflective of our country. Both my husband and I are election workers. That’s as close politically that we can get without wanting a divorce.
My mom was Republican & my dad was Democrat, but they usually voted the same (usually Democrat). But that was back in the day there was much more overlap, with Republicans like Eisenhower, Rockefeller, Lodge, Dirksen & Hatfield, who were all moderate to liberal. There's been nothing like them this century.
Except they are only trying to do. It is up to those of us who are wise to their antics that must make the effort to make them stop by voting for humans who have a soul.
1) Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, in my Washington, D.C. youth; 2) Kevin McCarthy of California, in my California old age; two Republican peas/pees in a pod.
That was my only argument with this column, Carol. Having worked on the Hill at about the same age, I thought she was terribly brave to defy her compromised boss and the lethal chief executive. (It was disappointing to see that smart, pretty young women are still useful to the political establishment, and no one pays them particular attention or assumes that they are paying attention.) Not everyone enters politics with a law degree or even a family with an understanding of the politics. But Hutchinson had enough awareness to know that there should not be guns on the Mall and that the President was hoping to galvanize the people who bore them and he had summoned them. And even when it was clear that she was countering her boss and her boss's boss, she spoke out. I wish her well.
You're citing a Newsweek Fact Check piece that ends with a verdict of "False."
"False
"Some new reports from January 2021 stated Cassidy Hutchinson was among a list of potential staffers who may continue working for Donald Trump after he left the White House. However, there is no evidence that Hutchinson publicly stated she would be working at Mar-a-Lago after the U.S. Capitol riots on January 6, 2021."
That is correct. I would like to know what made Prof. Reich say that Hutchinson "didn't turn on Trump until she was told she wasn't going to Mar-a-Lago after January 20."
Where are you quoting that from? He certainly didn’t say it in this post, or any that I’ve read. I have occasionally missed one, but not recently. Please specify. I’d be shocked to find the professor had referred to a disproven rumor as fact.
In "Kevin McCarthy is gone! What's next?", this article we're commenting on, the last paragraph.
"And Cassidy Hutchinson didn't turn on Trump until she was told she wasn't going to Mar-a-Lago after January 20. Diogenes' lamp would surely go out if he were circulating in this crowd."
OK, I've just reread Prof. Reich's column of that title for the 3rd time. The pair of sentences you quote are NOT in it. Nor do they sound like anything Reich would say. Here are his last 3 paragraphs:
"But who will be the next leader of the House? I can’t imagine Republicans will be able to coalesce around anyone else, and I’m sure Democrats won’t help them elect a new speaker. So what happens next? Who knows? All I know is the Republican Party has once again demonstrated it can’t govern.
"As for Kevin McCarthy, he deserves no praise. He’s an unprincipled lout.
Thank you for speaking honestly about Kevin McCarthy. Would that the talking heads and scribblers of the mainstream media did likewise. Will reporters ever acknowledge that among Republicans it is a matter of the degree of their extremism, not whether they are extremists or not? Has anyone heard Mitt Romney or Liz Cheney ever condemn their Party’s state by state efforts to cripple democracy? Have any spoken out against court packing or radical gerrymandering? No, because to a person every Republican endorses the agenda. “Good Republicans” may not be as vulgar as Donald Trump, tawdry as Lauren Boebert, or as coarse as Marjorie Taylor Greene but they all support the same goals. This is why the GOP’s embrace of authoritarianism should surprise no one. The Party has always been a blend of plutocrats and lunatics in uneven measure with the former calling the shots while drawing energy from the latter in order to win office and impose its agenda. What’s different now is that the barbarians have been brought inside the gates. Unlike his predecessors who exploited the whack-jobs but kept them outside the perimeter, Trump brought not only brought the them inside the compound he gave them the run of the entire run of the place and now the plutocrats are stuck with the result. Republicans have made their bed, now let them lie in it. A pox on all of them.
Jim Giardina, truth, well said. The lunatics are now running the asylum. And thanks for asking, if the few more sane R have spoken out on all the egregious, democracy killing actions of their party.
Whatever IS the real agenda of the GOP, somewhere in that mess must be a party line that every representative in that part must be somewhat coherent enough to at least have understood that they
GP cont’d (Pressed wrong button) agreed with and to uphold their party policies. Any one of them could have stood boldly and faced any camera and publicity disagreed with this policy. Crickets in that one. They are either the most frightened people on Earth, or they’re just as bad as Trump.
How an unprincipled criminal like Trump could gain so much power in the US to make an absolute mockery of our government is an enormous wake-up call to the fact that there is something fundamentally dysfunctional in our society. There needs to be some deep soul searching of values systems - hint - if money is the goal, there is no values system, you are nothing but a Skinner rat running the maze and kissing the boss’s ring in expectation of reward. Every politician who has taken money needs to look at the source and decide once and for all if this source serves the higher good and if they will continue to allow themselves to be bought.
I wish enough "principled Republicans" (are there any left?) would join with Democrats and elect Hakeem Jeffries as the House Speaker... but that's not going to happen.
I think that's why Leonor said it's not going to happen. I think the only possibility for Hakeem to become Speaker is if the leading Republican contender is sufficiently unpopular with enough Republicans that some of them abstain from voting. I believe that's unlikely.
I am not a US citizen and I don't live in the USA. My own nations, England and Australia, are very far from perfect and suffer the perfidy of corporate greed and right-wing political deceit, lies and favour of those with wealth, status and power, at the drastic cost to the majority who actually work to produce and keep the nations afloat.
The citizens of both of those nations are as gullible as those of the USA who support and vote for right-wing demagogues and political parties that will govern *against* their interests as year upon year of evidence has shown.
However, despite these similarities in ideology and self-aggrandisement of the right-wing, I have to wonder if anyone is left in the USA who actually cares how the nation has and does present itself to the World in recent times.
From being the bastion of the Free World, (despite its mistakes, misdeeds and critics), it appears more and more to be the basket-case of the Free World. I can't help but wonder if its dazzling display of internal conflict, confusion, collusion, coercion, contradiction - collapse - is a significant contributing factor to what appears to be an emboldening of even relatively minor nations, coups, incursions, rigged elections, and significant geopolitical realignments that are taking place.
I enjoy sport but generally abhor the over use of cliche´sporting analogies. Nevertheless, I will join the club on this one and suggest that not only has the USA dropped the ball but the referee has either left the field or lost control and the game has degenerated into an appalling free for all that will benefit no-one.
p.s. If you consider me to have no place to comment on the USA then so be it. Perhaps you are right. However, I write what I have with both sadness and regret and some hope that a Galahad will suddenly appear and teach the children how to behave.
Yes Robert, an unprincipled lout but worse than that a man who talked out of both sides of his mouth as well as his behind. Yes he stopped the Government shut down...working with the Democrats to help make that happen only to throw the same Democrats under the bus on CBS Sunday.
He made a handshake deal with Biden last May only to renege on his promise. Like the lizard you removed from your House, McCarthy constantly played both sides for his advantage, said what he needed to say in the moment in order to get what he wanted only to slither out the door and reverse his promise. His words are meaningless and worthless. And worst he condemned Trump one minute only to kiss his ring the next. To say that McCarthy is a spineless, self-serving opportunistic douchebag is insulting to douchebags. Good riddance sir. Please let the door hit you on your way out.
I actually met Donald Trump & I wrote an Op-Ed BEFORE the 2020 election called HOW I MET THE REAL DONALD TRUMP. In the article I quote Trump's sister Maryann and his niece Mary Trump who tell us exactly what they think of the man. They've both known Donald all their lives. Even Trump admits who he really is at the end of the piece. He says the quiet part out loud.
Somehow, I think all Democrats should've abstained on the vote. You >know< the Яepuблиkan$ will portray McCarthy's ouster as a Democratic hit job! Don't believe me. Believe what the Яepuблиkan$ have demonstrated for months. Had the Democrats abstained, the Яepuблиkan$ would have no way of blaming anybody but themselves. (Not that they wouldn't >try< anyway!)
Had McCarthy offered the Democrats majority positions in a few committees, they would have supported him. But the very idea that people like Gym Jordan are chiars, he is complicit in obstruction of justice.
Yes. I think he is a repulsive, arrogant little insect who has very suddenly gotten way too big for his britches. Now he thinks he wants to run for Governor. Gag.
Kevin forgot a few things. If you make a deal with the Devil, the Devil comes to collect. If you negotiate with terrorists, the terrorists up their demands. And finally, when you show yourself to be untrustworthy and a frequent bad faith actor, people don't trust you and know your word is worthless. And now Kevin McCarthy gets his just desserts. If he was smart, he would quit and make his successor's job even tougher with an even slimmer majority.
"untrustworthy and a frequent bad faith actor, people don't trust you and know your word is worthless." That describes the entire party.
I can't disagree, dogant.
But as a practical matter, Dems need to coalesce around someone who could conceivably be a competent Speaker in order to protect the integrity of the institution. Our country can't afford to have a wounded dysfunctional House of Representatives for the next 15 months.
Since Republicans have a majority, they are entitled to the Speakership. But it needs to be someone who's non-MAGA Republican and respected by both sides. There are actually a few who fit the bill.
As many readers here know, I represent a network of ordinary citizens who've been advocating for removing and replacing Kevin McCarthy since January. We're now half-way there!!
Learn more here: www.FeathersOfHope.net or jerryweiss.substack.com
.
How about Adam Kinzinger? There is no rule that says the speaker has to be currently serving in the House.
In as much as Adam Kinzinger would be a valuable asset to the speakership, no republican will vote for him. Unfortunately, republicans think that standing up for the United States of America and determining what exactly happened on the day Trump's cult attacked our House is a very bad thing and have turned their collective backs on the true republicans that stood up and said 'No More'!
Adam Kinzinger would be an excellent choice but if course that would never happen and with the current state of disfunction I seriously doubt he'd take it if offered.
His problem is he can't corral any MAGA votes, & probably a lot of the other Republicans.
I think many Democrats would vote for him if he were nominated because of all his fine work with the January 6th Committee, but I'm not sure of that since up till now they've been steadfastly united in support of Hakeem Jeffries (who I really hope manages to become Speaker despite Democrats being in the minority, which could happen if enough Republicans abstained from voting, which I suppose could happen if the leading Republican wasn't popular enough).
I don't believe MAGA would vote for Kinzinger because they do not want the cult members to turn on them.
Well, the majority margin is SO slim, that a Republican "turncoat", with the support of the great majority of the Democratic members of the House, plus those few Republicans with ordinary political principles, COULD elect a Adam K, or better yet (IMHO) Liz Cheney to Speaker. (And I don't think of her as an Angel, but DO respect her principles!
And Adam Kinzinger has been threatened, along with his family.
Exactly what I was about to say!
???
I've been waiting for at least one of the 18 Republicans that represent districts won by Biden in 2020 to step forward.
So far, crickets.
So the demand is ALL the democrats to vote for any candidate who will agree to name a few Democrats as chairs of some of the committees. Who wants to be speaker if only queen (or king) for a day?
Yes, I thought there was an opportunity for that when McCarthy was struggling through his 15 votes: put up a _moderate_ Republican who's willing to work across party lines (starting by dropping the Hastert Rule), and enough Democrats would vote for that Speaker that Gaetz and company can go pound sand. We could try it again now.
Not only would this get the Speaker's seat filled quickly, but it would be a Speaker explicitly committed to bipartisanship and (dare I say it?) actually getting laws passed, rather than performative partisan posturing. Which we'll desperately need in order to pass twelve budget bills in the next six weeks.
That probably amounts to no more than wishful thinking,, but we'll see.
We're probably just as likely to end up with someone as disastrous as Jordan, MTG or Gosar. I think they all voted to keep McCarthy, yet they all have strong ties to the extremists, especially Gosar. Can you imagine any of them being Speaker? Ugh!
Why? The 118th Congress has been dysfunctional from day one. They have passed no useful legislation, most of what they did passed died in the intelligent Senate. The Democrats can still invoke the Constitution to end the stupid "use the debt ceiling to close the Government" without a Speaker and we do have Hakeem Jeffries.
I'm 100% with you, Fay!
.....yes, the perfect opportunity to break from Trump, but that's not what motivates the sponsors of this move. Some mysterious forceful faction within the GOP must emerge at this moment with the "magic" to capture a new way of walking for the party--could happen, but not the normal unfold of the GOP. Actually, the same could be said for the Dems; do they have the cajones to fast-track Gavin Christopher Newsom ? Again, similar to the GOP, Newsom could solve so many campaign problems, and for the long-term.
Newsom? Ugh. Talk about bad faith. A slick, handsome, corporate Democrat.
That must be why he was reelected by a landslide.
My extended family lives in CA, as do many friends. They voted for him in that landslide—but not enthusiastically. Their alternative was the Republican.
Couldn't disagree more. Dems should do
as they did with McCarthy initially--stay out of it and do not vote for Speaker. The only reason to change this tactic would be if a pitential Speaker were to make promises to the Dems to key principles. That won't happen. Ultimately the chaos will make its way back to the voters. They have the power to fix this dysfunction. And that depends on their allegiance to Trump.
They voted consistently for Jeffries as Speaker, & they should continue to do so, at least until & unless a candidate comes who is moderate & bipartisan enough to work with Democrats, if such a person exists, which I frankly see no sign of among House Republicans.
I didn’t know that. 🤔
I didn’t know that Jerry Weiss represents a group of concerned citizens.
Good luck with your endeavours
Liz Cheney would be an excellent choice, also helping us to flush our system of trumpism
Excellent idea
She would do a good job but is in the same boat as Kinzinger!
Exactly!
“Chaos Caucus” would be a good name for the fascist Republicans we’re trying to name.
My concern is that this is a Brer Rabbit moment. The fox has been convinced to throw Mr. Rabbit back into the briar patch, therefore helping him escape from the fox’s clutches. CNA the lack of a Speaker of the House shut down the system as well?
I'm terrified someone will suggest Trump...
You wrote "some kind of moderate, sane Republican" - what were you thinking?
After my initial exuberance at the thought - since elsewhere I've just heard that DJT's name has been floated - that since the Speaker DOESN'T have to be even a member of Congress, that Liz Cheney would be an excellent choice, as a Republican, I realized that there probably aren't ANY sitting Republican members of the House of Representatives that could bring themselves to vote for her, or Kinzinger. So, only if enough Republican Congress "critters" (as Jim Hightower calls them sometimes) only voted "Present", could the Democrats elect the Speaker, possibly Hakeem Jeffries.
Most likely it will be someone even more conservative or radical than McCarthy.
But if no one was chosen by then, couldn't Democrats go on & pass an acceptable budget? It might be easier with Republicans so disunited.
Wow. Is that true? Awful. They are a nasty bunch. Patrick McHenry is the interim and he is the guy in a bowtie who may have had some trouble lifting the gavel, but after raising it high brought it down HARD at the end of the session. Looks like he's trying to appear tough and maybe vie for the speakership. If he is evicting Nancy Pelosi, he is like trump who tried for a very long time to evict an elderly property owner in Atlantic City when he was trying to get her out of the way of his (failed) casino.
Patrick McHenry: give me liberty, or just give me a whole lot of power! See me? I'm wearing a bowtie! I'm tough.
Really? No respect for someone far more respectable than he..
Another name I hadn't heard before today... er, I guess it's now yesterday. Every new Republican I learn about is at least as bad as the ones I already know about.
How did he become assigned as interim Speaker? By vote of the Republican Caucus? So then he may have a leg up on potential competitors.
True. She’s been in CA—she flew here with Dianne Feinstein’s body and will stay through the lying in state and the funeral. So she’s directed her staff to pack up the office.
McHenry is violating a long-term tradition. Pelops I allowed Denny Hastert to keep his hideaway office when she became Speaker the first time. But McHenry is just petty like that.
That is what a group of mainly Republicans and Christian right wing educators did to my husband.
What you say is of course spot on. ...Except those "principles" so far don't seem to apply to The Donald. Just remarkable, what 35% of "us" are willing to be comfortable with/settle for. Just remarkable. Pathetic.
Adolph Hitler’s portion of the vote in Germany in 1932 that placed him in a position to snatch the chancellorship was 36.8. (c/o HCR’s Democracy Awakening, Foreward, first page). We are at the tipping point, staring into the abyss.
Times were much tougher for German voters then economically, and the Weimar Republic was short-lived between 2 wars. Germans didn't have the historic tradition we have. All in our favor. Having said that, we are approaching Civil War territory in terms of difficulty governing if Dems don't win 2024 across the board. We also face multiple attacks from foreign agents. Social media is as bad or worse than ever, and AI will be used nefariously.
Voters need to wake up!
Also note "How Democracies Die" by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt (2018), followed by their "Tyranny of the Minority".
He can thank Trump.
I would say we can thank Ronny Regean. Bunkerboy, ANOTHER dementia-addled c-list actor, is a DIRECT result of America settling for a dope.
The judge in the civil case against Trump didn't waste any time responding to his threats. Why
have the judges in the other cases taken so long
to shut him up???
It's always been pretty clear that Kev isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer.
Were he smart, he'd be someone else.
Sadly, no one who should step down for bad, unethical, corrupt behavior, or bad health seems to consider the common good, their primary responsibility as elected leaders to The House and Senate.
Agreed, It is all starting to fall down. As you wrote, the Devil comes to collect. "No Free Lunch"!!!! Hopefully this miss wakes some people up.
Sorry, I don't believe it is "falling down" yet. It may get worse before it gets better. What if Jim Jordan becomes Speaker?
I believe we have to consider that "They" may take us all down with them
January 6th on Steroids!
Oh, God help us!
Jordan? Replace an unprincipled toadie with a certifiable lunatic? What a train wreck!
But that's the Republican Party for you. They go from bad to worse to worst.
So true!!! McCarthy's word has been worthless!! Flying down to Mar A Lago to kiss the emperor's ring was one of his most embarrassing and shameful exhibitions!!!
So true!! McCarthy's word has routinely been worthless!! He stands for nothing...except the selfish desire of having the title "Speaker of the House" next to his name. His tenure has been shameful and cowardly!! Laughably, now he's gone there are Republicans wanting to put the very definition of damaged goods D. Trump's name forward for the speakership! Reportedly Trump won't take it if offered. Thank goodness for THAT mercy!! Now if the Republicans can get their act together and find a more suitable presidential candidate...one can only hope!!!...although it's unlikely...what an epic mess!!!
Well deserved for bowing down to #TraitorTrump after January 6th, for his Benghazi hearings to take down Clinton & for his fake Biden impeachment hearings.
Lying Kevin deserves whatever Karma brings him.
Karma. Exactly what I was thinking.
There are plenty more idiots to take his place. Lauren Bobert, Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, et al. Will the American people ever grow up?
I think it would be very entertaining to see Bobo Boebert in the role. Downright comical. The first speaker of the House to ever need 4 attempts to pass her GED!
🤣🤣🤣
No, no no! I thought the same thing when Trump first ran for president. Well I suppose it was entertaining at times it was a cluster that has had a horrific impact on our democracy, on the lives of women and our relationship with the rest of the world.
Just throwing it out on the table, Tim. Thanks for being cautious. I don't blame anyone for being cautious after the last 7 years.
Chuck Torres, You are being not nice.
Don't think it couldn't happen! I'd give a slightly higher probability for Jordan, Gosar or MTG, who are practically as bad.
Yes, it could happen. She would crumble under the pressure. Underneath her pretty face and body, is nothing of substance.
You need glasses!!
Funny thing Chuck, that adjective never comes to my mind when I look at her. Maybe if she took off her glasses…I guess a man would think so.
Good one, Meredith! She's an airhead and a bitch but her looks got her to where she is. I wouldn't take her home to Mom and Dad, but she might do in a pinch.
Yes, will they ever? They have to get off corporate media. Thanks
As a journalist, and no fan of corporate media, I must take issue. I think Trumpism taps into something much deeper than self-serving, right-wing media hype. Racism, insecurity, fear. We've seen it before, around the world, the hunger for a dictator to protect white supremacy, to blame problems on "them," others such as immigrants, non-white citizens, liberals, Democrats, people like Robert Reich.
Obama becoming president scared the hell out of the white supremacists. They lost their minds and Trump capitalized.
Right . When Obama won hate groups morphed as shown on a Southern Poverty Law map across the country like pus filled red pimples.
Completely agree! White supremacy is at the core of the identity of the MAGATs and they are incapable of willfully separating from that. To do so would fracture their personalities as to induce drooling insanity. This will not end smoothly nor from changing clowns in the car.
Exactly. Fear is the chief driving force behind this movement; fear and lust for power by those who are feeding the fear. Over the last 40 years the legs of effective government have been slowly weakened and are now in the process of being knocked out from under us completely. Remember, there are those who would love to see our government small enough to drown in a bathtub. What they fail to add is, said government would be so small that the new rulers of this country could then run roughshod over any and all who would be left behind for them to rule over. I’m not sure what use the Kochs and their ilk would do with the husk that would be left, because this country isn’t the flag, the pledge or anything else physical but this country is a free and diverse people; always has been, always will be.
That was my exact thought since 2016: The Gop is the party of terrified children awaid of women so they sexually assault them, awaid of children . . . so they sexually assault them, afwaid of non-white humans so they try to get EVERYONE ELSE afwaid of them too, and afwaid of the 99% so they try to kill them. [sic]
I hate to ❤️ your comment because you’re right. Got to keep that fear factor stoked at all costs. Otherwise the dweebs will figure it all out.
Agree on that point. And Fox "News" is the worst culprit.
I think that was the point of the original post you responded to in this thread. A bubble has been crested for these people. They are literally brainwashed.
We were pretty grown up until we elected Reagan and Wall St took over the country.
No significant signs of growing up yet revealed for the Rethugs and close to half the Dumbocrats. This wild party is just getting going.
I hope that they wake up and ditch these people and MTG and James Comer
Expel them to be precise. It's constitutionally mandatory.
If Shakespeare was alive think of the play he could have written
That is the WHOLE issue. Russian philosophers told us a long time ago that America is NOT a democracy. (Actually, under our system of campaign contributions today, it is an oligarchy). Our enemies observed that the American people are so completely absorbed in their own personal pursuits, mainly of wealth or just keeping a roof over their families ...they have no time to participate in the operation of their government. This is the weakness that our enemies hope to leverage to do as they promised ...take down America from the inside. They said the American people will cut down the Stars and Stripes themselves, and on Jan. 6, the Trumpite militia did exactly that. They took down our flag and raised a Trump flag in its place over our Capitol. As an observer for over 30 years (reporter), I don't think that the American people realize that our nation is under attack. "If we don't hang together, we shall surely all hang separately." This is the "common good" that Reich and others stress. There are smart and principled people out there. If they don't step up, and if we don't step up to put aside our personal pursuits long enough to support them ...Hail Atlantis!
You make a good point, thanks. I do find it interesting that no one has yet mentioned the elephant in the room, the reactionary Christian Biblical interpretations that almost invariably are mentioned as the ultimate justification for all this bad behavior by MAGA followers. "It's in the Bible, so that's ok with me". Meaning mysogyny, slavery, murder, war, tribal loyalty over justice, homophobia and more.
No tears for a sycophant bit by his own dog. I hope they keep reminding America why they cannot be trusted in government. Best campaign ad ever.
Benghazi
Benghazi
Benghazi 🤣
All Republicans in the house should be in jail for supporting Donald. He will join them soon
At the very least, one of McCarthy's allies should file a privileged motion to expel Matt Gaetz. I think it would pass overwhelmingly.
Absolutely. A two-for-one week. Historic.
Agreed. Expel Pervy McForehead and hope that he has an overdue mugshot in his future.
🤣🤣🤣
But I'm pretty sure he wants to be the next Speaker. You can tell from photos from yesterday and today. Smug @#$%^. Someday we'll look back at a timetable dating from the campaign of 2015 to the day before the end of the world, and all of us idiots will say, "Gosh, why didn't we do something sooner?"
Although I think Gaetz has no chance of becoming Speaker for having created so many enemies among his Republican colleagues & having no allies among Democrats, I agree with your sentiment. I think some people who are just as bad like MTG, Gosar & Jordan each have a conceivable chance of becoming next Speaker, & any of them would be disastrous.
Great idea!!
They've been talking about it. Another motion that Democrats would be happy to join Republicans proposing it.
I’ve heard they’re working on it!
I wish for courage, but not from a single member in that crowd of crap.
I don't know when the shift happened, from governing and compromise and using the best ideas from both sides of the aisle....to a scorched earth, extremist, brinkmanship, holding congress hostage. Let's start with making Congress great again. Also, technically, Donald Trump could be nominated for Speaker of the House. Send in the clowns, they're already here.
That’s a horrifying thought!!
Horrifying, maybe. But I think it would actually be comical. tRUMP is incapable of talking to the press ad lib. He would HAVE to. He would be his own worst enemy.
LOL, another good point, Thank you!
NOT FUNNY! When you speculate like this you're misusing your imagination and helping to manifest what you're imagining. Please stop!
Relax, Hyla. You're giving tRUMP too much credit. Every day that passes exposes him more and more for an incompetent fraudster.
Chuck Torres,
How patronizing of you to respond this way. I do agree that he is on a self destruct mission.
I understand how you feel. The past 6 years have been stressful. Many of us have seen tRUMP for what he is from the start. His narcissism, misogyny, racism, authoritarianism, chronic lying, etc. The fight against him has been long and difficult. However, I think many more have caught on since then. I do agree we must remain persistent in seeing his demise through to the end and beyond. He will need the double-tap to make sure we are rid of him. I am allowing myself a glimmer of hope that I think is justified that justice will be served. His ranting and raving and ludicrous attempts to defend himself have no place in a court of law. The wheels of justice have been turning and think we will see him ground to fine dust. We should not get over confident.
Forgive me for stepping in but I didn't get the impression Chuck was being patronizing. Just trying to lighten things up a bit - as some of us are wont to do in dangerously drastic times. So yeah let's relax a little knowing as we do that Justice is on its slow lumbering way.
“I don't know when the shift happened, from governing and compromise and using the best ideas from both sides of the aisle.”
Shift started almost exactly 50 years ago. Has been steadily growing ever since.
One name: Newt
Do not exculpate Ronald Reagan et al. They may seem institutionalist now, but their arsonist rhetoric made space for others to light the fires.
Yes, you are correct--Reagan was indeed an arsonist. Napping and joking about it or watching old movies and neglecting his job as President, Reagan was a great beginning template for Trump and his little minions.
The shift was initiated with the global rolling out of fiat money in 1971.
If you want to reveal an individual’s true moral character gift them easy wealth and the power that comes with it.
It was milk and money that made these meadows mean.
I’m horrified by the Republican Party and what they are doing to our democracy.
Then be sure to vote, get all of your kith and kin who are tired of the GQP's crud to make sure they are registered (if at least 18 years old) and have a plan to vote, volunteer for a voter registration drive, support Progressive candidates, and get your buns to the polls when the time comes and VOTE!
We are a house divided and have a strict no-politics rule. Very much reflective of our country. Both my husband and I are election workers. That’s as close politically that we can get without wanting a divorce.
My mom was Republican & my dad was Democrat, but they usually voted the same (usually Democrat). But that was back in the day there was much more overlap, with Republicans like Eisenhower, Rockefeller, Lodge, Dirksen & Hatfield, who were all moderate to liberal. There's been nothing like them this century.
😧
Sympathies and courage!
Except they are only trying to do. It is up to those of us who are wise to their antics that must make the effort to make them stop by voting for humans who have a soul.
1) Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, in my Washington, D.C. youth; 2) Kevin McCarthy of California, in my California old age; two Republican peas/pees in a pod.
No, I think Joe McCarthy was far more sinister than Kevin, a real lightweight.
I agree on almost everything, but I hesitate to condemn Cassidy Hutchinson. I still think she was brave.
That was my only argument with this column, Carol. Having worked on the Hill at about the same age, I thought she was terribly brave to defy her compromised boss and the lethal chief executive. (It was disappointing to see that smart, pretty young women are still useful to the political establishment, and no one pays them particular attention or assumes that they are paying attention.) Not everyone enters politics with a law degree or even a family with an understanding of the politics. But Hutchinson had enough awareness to know that there should not be guns on the Mall and that the President was hoping to galvanize the people who bore them and he had summoned them. And even when it was clear that she was countering her boss and her boss's boss, she spoke out. I wish her well.
So do I. At her age, it's intimidating to go against family/Family - biological & political.
Nope, just in it for the grift like the others.
She has made it clear that she is a Republican ; just not MAGA. She gets credit in my view.
Cynic!
Yes, & she's the only one of them who actually did make a difference with her testimony.
https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-cassidy-hutchinson-record-about-trump-job-after-jan-6-1720587
You're citing a Newsweek Fact Check piece that ends with a verdict of "False."
"False
"Some new reports from January 2021 stated Cassidy Hutchinson was among a list of potential staffers who may continue working for Donald Trump after he left the White House. However, there is no evidence that Hutchinson publicly stated she would be working at Mar-a-Lago after the U.S. Capitol riots on January 6, 2021."
That is correct. I would like to know what made Prof. Reich say that Hutchinson "didn't turn on Trump until she was told she wasn't going to Mar-a-Lago after January 20."
Where are you quoting that from? He certainly didn’t say it in this post, or any that I’ve read. I have occasionally missed one, but not recently. Please specify. I’d be shocked to find the professor had referred to a disproven rumor as fact.
In "Kevin McCarthy is gone! What's next?", this article we're commenting on, the last paragraph.
"And Cassidy Hutchinson didn't turn on Trump until she was told she wasn't going to Mar-a-Lago after January 20. Diogenes' lamp would surely go out if he were circulating in this crowd."
OK, I've just reread Prof. Reich's column of that title for the 3rd time. The pair of sentences you quote are NOT in it. Nor do they sound like anything Reich would say. Here are his last 3 paragraphs:
"But who will be the next leader of the House? I can’t imagine Republicans will be able to coalesce around anyone else, and I’m sure Democrats won’t help them elect a new speaker. So what happens next? Who knows? All I know is the Republican Party has once again demonstrated it can’t govern.
"As for Kevin McCarthy, he deserves no praise. He’s an unprincipled lout.
"What do you think?"
Thank you for speaking honestly about Kevin McCarthy. Would that the talking heads and scribblers of the mainstream media did likewise. Will reporters ever acknowledge that among Republicans it is a matter of the degree of their extremism, not whether they are extremists or not? Has anyone heard Mitt Romney or Liz Cheney ever condemn their Party’s state by state efforts to cripple democracy? Have any spoken out against court packing or radical gerrymandering? No, because to a person every Republican endorses the agenda. “Good Republicans” may not be as vulgar as Donald Trump, tawdry as Lauren Boebert, or as coarse as Marjorie Taylor Greene but they all support the same goals. This is why the GOP’s embrace of authoritarianism should surprise no one. The Party has always been a blend of plutocrats and lunatics in uneven measure with the former calling the shots while drawing energy from the latter in order to win office and impose its agenda. What’s different now is that the barbarians have been brought inside the gates. Unlike his predecessors who exploited the whack-jobs but kept them outside the perimeter, Trump brought not only brought the them inside the compound he gave them the run of the entire run of the place and now the plutocrats are stuck with the result. Republicans have made their bed, now let them lie in it. A pox on all of them.
Jim Giardina, truth, well said. The lunatics are now running the asylum. And thanks for asking, if the few more sane R have spoken out on all the egregious, democracy killing actions of their party.
Whatever IS the real agenda of the GOP, somewhere in that mess must be a party line that every representative in that part must be somewhat coherent enough to at least have understood that they
GP cont’d (Pressed wrong button) agreed with and to uphold their party policies. Any one of them could have stood boldly and faced any camera and publicity disagreed with this policy. Crickets in that one. They are either the most frightened people on Earth, or they’re just as bad as Trump.
How an unprincipled criminal like Trump could gain so much power in the US to make an absolute mockery of our government is an enormous wake-up call to the fact that there is something fundamentally dysfunctional in our society. There needs to be some deep soul searching of values systems - hint - if money is the goal, there is no values system, you are nothing but a Skinner rat running the maze and kissing the boss’s ring in expectation of reward. Every politician who has taken money needs to look at the source and decide once and for all if this source serves the higher good and if they will continue to allow themselves to be bought.
...it happened in 1920s Russia and 1930s Germany, only a matter of time for here..
I wish enough "principled Republicans" (are there any left?) would join with Democrats and elect Hakeem Jeffries as the House Speaker... but that's not going to happen.
Name one. You can't.
I think that's why Leonor said it's not going to happen. I think the only possibility for Hakeem to become Speaker is if the leading Republican contender is sufficiently unpopular with enough Republicans that some of them abstain from voting. I believe that's unlikely.
I am not a US citizen and I don't live in the USA. My own nations, England and Australia, are very far from perfect and suffer the perfidy of corporate greed and right-wing political deceit, lies and favour of those with wealth, status and power, at the drastic cost to the majority who actually work to produce and keep the nations afloat.
The citizens of both of those nations are as gullible as those of the USA who support and vote for right-wing demagogues and political parties that will govern *against* their interests as year upon year of evidence has shown.
However, despite these similarities in ideology and self-aggrandisement of the right-wing, I have to wonder if anyone is left in the USA who actually cares how the nation has and does present itself to the World in recent times.
From being the bastion of the Free World, (despite its mistakes, misdeeds and critics), it appears more and more to be the basket-case of the Free World. I can't help but wonder if its dazzling display of internal conflict, confusion, collusion, coercion, contradiction - collapse - is a significant contributing factor to what appears to be an emboldening of even relatively minor nations, coups, incursions, rigged elections, and significant geopolitical realignments that are taking place.
I enjoy sport but generally abhor the over use of cliche´sporting analogies. Nevertheless, I will join the club on this one and suggest that not only has the USA dropped the ball but the referee has either left the field or lost control and the game has degenerated into an appalling free for all that will benefit no-one.
p.s. If you consider me to have no place to comment on the USA then so be it. Perhaps you are right. However, I write what I have with both sadness and regret and some hope that a Galahad will suddenly appear and teach the children how to behave.
Yes Robert, an unprincipled lout but worse than that a man who talked out of both sides of his mouth as well as his behind. Yes he stopped the Government shut down...working with the Democrats to help make that happen only to throw the same Democrats under the bus on CBS Sunday.
He made a handshake deal with Biden last May only to renege on his promise. Like the lizard you removed from your House, McCarthy constantly played both sides for his advantage, said what he needed to say in the moment in order to get what he wanted only to slither out the door and reverse his promise. His words are meaningless and worthless. And worst he condemned Trump one minute only to kiss his ring the next. To say that McCarthy is a spineless, self-serving opportunistic douchebag is insulting to douchebags. Good riddance sir. Please let the door hit you on your way out.
I actually met Donald Trump & I wrote an Op-Ed BEFORE the 2020 election called HOW I MET THE REAL DONALD TRUMP. In the article I quote Trump's sister Maryann and his niece Mary Trump who tell us exactly what they think of the man. They've both known Donald all their lives. Even Trump admits who he really is at the end of the piece. He says the quiet part out loud.
HOW I MET THE REAL DONALD TRUMP
https://madaboutpolitics.com/threads/how-i-met-the-real-donald-trump.98299/
Well said!
Somehow, I think all Democrats should've abstained on the vote. You >know< the Яepuблиkan$ will portray McCarthy's ouster as a Democratic hit job! Don't believe me. Believe what the Яepuблиkan$ have demonstrated for months. Had the Democrats abstained, the Яepuблиkan$ would have no way of blaming anybody but themselves. (Not that they wouldn't >try< anyway!)
Had McCarthy offered the Democrats majority positions in a few committees, they would have supported him. But the very idea that people like Gym Jordan are chiars, he is complicit in obstruction of justice.
...don't forget his reinstating the FLaxen Klaxon (MTG) to the following committees
Homeland Security,
Oversight and accountability,
Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic (right, a science denying antivaxxer on this one)
There's no shortage of hypocrisy on Capitol Hill!
I think the Dems did abstained.
I was wrong. They did not.
The final count was 216 to 210. That's 226 votes cast. There are what, 435 reps in the House?
426 votes cast. All but 9. I think most of these 9 were Democrats attending Feinstein's funeral.
Glad to see him go. But is anyone else upset that Matt Gaetz gets his way. Such awful people--one worse than the next.
Yes. I think he is a repulsive, arrogant little insect who has very suddenly gotten way too big for his britches. Now he thinks he wants to run for Governor. Gag.
Sex trafficker…and also obstructed justice
Great ad for Florida governor!